In manufacturing corrugated cardboard, a flat web is generally trained around a first corrugated roller that meshes with a second corrugated roller and the flat web is directed through the corrugated nip therebetween. After passing through the corrugated nip, the formed corrugated web is stripped from the corrugated roller by a stripper finger and guided and supported thereby around the second corrugated roller which generally lies adjacent a pressure roller. A second flat web is generally fed around the pressure roller and through the nip between the pressure roller and second corrugated roller where the second flat web is glued to the corrugated web to produce a corrugated cardboard segment.
In the basic process referred to above, a plurality of laterally spaced stripper fingers are positioned adjacent the second corrugated roller and functions to strip the corrugated web from the first corrugated roller and to guide the same around a substantial portion of the second corrugated roller. In addition, the respective stripper fingers function to hold the corrugated web closely adjacent the second corrugated roller prior to the mergence of the corrugated web with the flat bonding web.
In such web corrugating machines just described above, one major problem that has continuously been presented lies in the fact that the respective stripper fingers are proned to move from side to side from a desired position where the stripper fingers extend normal to the axes of the corrugated rollers. Once the stripper fingers begin to move from side to side from this normal position, they then are likely to engage and bind one or more of the adjacent corrugated rollers which will result in the stripper finger being worn and/or damaged. This is particularly true in cases where certain portions of the stripper fingers are designed to fit within a groove of a selected roller and wherein due to twisting, portions of the stripper fingers become misaligned within the grooves and wear, thereby reducing the life of such.
Finally one other problem associated with stripper fingers is the fact that they are in many cases rigidly mounted to the finger holder and the problem with misalignment is thereby compounded. Thus, when misalignment occurs, the rigid mounting does not give the stripper finger the flexibility to respond by withdrawing from engagement with an adjacent roller.
Therefore, there is a need for a stripper finger holder assembly that will stabilize the position of the stripper fingers and will essentially lock the stripper fingers in a position normal to the axis of adjacent roller. In addition, there is a need for a finger holder assembly that will maintain the stripper fingers in a proper posture adjacent a corrugated roller, but which will give the same the flexibility to float and avoid unnecessary interference if misalignment does occur.